India’s forex reserves drop $2.119 bn to $723.608-bn

Mumbai: India’s forex reserves dropped by $2.119 billion to $723.608 billion during the week ended February 20, the RBI said on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had jumped by $8.663 billion to a new all-time high of $725.727 billion.

For the week ended February 20, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, decreased by $1.039 billion to $572.564 billion, the data released by the central bank showed. Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effects of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units, such as the euro, pound, and yen, held in the foreign exchange reserves.

Value of the gold reserves dropped by $977 million to $127.489 billion during the week, the RBI said. The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were down by $84 million to $18.84 billion, the apex bank said.